Over a dozen years, twenty-eight outbreaks of Salmonella food poisoning linked to sprouts have been documented in the United States, affecting 1,275 people.40 Of course, Salmonella-tainted eggs sicken an estimated 142,000 Americans every year,41 but that doesn’t make it any less tragic for those hospitalized and killed in “sproutbreaks.” Alfalfa sprout seeds have all sorts of microscopic nooks and crannies where bacteria from manure-contaminated irrigation water can hide. So even home-sprouted alfalfa seeds should not be considered safe.
